This invention relates generally to electrical connectors and, more particularly, to connectors into which the edge of a printed circuit card can be inserted with zero insertion force.
It is known in the art that such connectors can be provided with cams and followers for spreading opposed rows of terminals when a card is to be inserted or removed. For example, cams for tensioning as well as spreading the terminals have been disclosed by Hamsher et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,428,635. In this connector, all of the normal contact force must be supplied at the terminal block, thus requiring thick, costly material in the terminals to obtain that force. Also, the frictional force of the cam followers on the insides of the free ends of the cantilevered arms must be counteracted before a normal force is applied.